{{Short description|Merger of Christian denominations}} {{about|the merging of churches|the Church of England group|The Church Union}}
'''Church union''' is the name given to a merger of two or more [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Christian denomination|denominations]].<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/union%20church#:~:text=%3A%20a%20local%20church%20uniting%20members,backgrounds%20in%20an%20interdenominational%20congregation Miriam-Webster dictionary website, ''Union Church'']</ref><ref>[https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1965/november-5/organic-church-union.html Christianity Today website, article by Patrick C. Rodger, dated November 5, 1965]</ref> Such unions may take on many forms, including a '''united church''' and a '''federation.'''
== United churches == {{main|United and uniting churches}} A united church is the result of a merger of churches of various denominations. One of the first of these occurred in 1817, when [[Lutheran]] and [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] churches in [[Prussia]] merged into the [[Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church)|Prussian Union]].<ref>[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199642465.001.0001/acref-9780199642465-e-5189 Oxford University Press, ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (4 ed.)'', Ed: Andrew Louth]</ref>
The nineteenth century saw a number of unions between churches of the same tradition. For example, the [[United Secession Church]] in Scotland was formed in 1820 by a union of various churches which had seceded from the established [[Church of Scotland]]. All these were [[Presbyterian]] in both doctrine and practice.<ref>[https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/sch.2004.34.1.6 Edinburgh University Press website, Scottish Church History, Volume 34, Issue 1, ''The United Secession Church in Glasgow 1820-1847'' by R. M. Smith]</ref>
In the twentieth century many churches merged as a result of the [[Ecumenical movement]]. One of the earliest such unions was in 1925, and formed the [[United Church of Canada]]. Other examples include like-minded bodies with a common theological history such as the [[United Methodist Church]] - a merger of the [[Evangelical United Brethren Church]] and [[Methodist Church (USA)|the Methodist Church]] in the [[United States]].<ref>[https://www.umc.org/en/content/formation-of-the-united-methodist-church United Methodist Church website, Formation page]</ref>
== Federation == A federation is a less centralized union.
One example includes the [[Presbyterian]] Churches of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia, which joined together to form the [[Presbyterian Church of Australia]] on July 24, 1901.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/71470434 Australian Government website, Newspapers And Gazettes (Sydney, NSW, 1870-1919)]</ref> The structure was similar to the [[Federation of Australia|Federation]] which formed the [[Commonwealth of Australia]] on January 1 of that same year. In his inaugural [[Moderator of the General Assembly|moderatorial]] address, John Meiklejohn made it clear that the ecclesiastical union consciously reflected the political union of the Australian colonies: "We have, by forming this Assembly, formed a Court whose jurisdiction is, as regards territory, equal to, and coterminous with that of the Federal Parliament, and like it, is representative in its character."
This union linked churches of the same denomination in different locations into one body without forming a monolithic national church. The individual state churches also kept their individual identities, rights, and privileges.
== The Uniates and the Edinoverie == The term "union" (e.g., the [[Union of Brest]] of 1596) is also used for the arrangement when a group of [[Eastern Orthodox|Orthodox]] Christians enters communion with the Catholic Church's [[Pope of Rome]], while wishing to maintain their Eastern rites. Such groups are known generically as [[Eastern Catholic Churches]]. Their adherents are occasionally referred to as [[Eastern Catholic Churches| uniates]].<ref>[https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CU%5CN%5CUniates.htm Encyclopedia Of Ukraine website, ''Uniates'']</ref><ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Uniate#:~:text=noun,but%20submitting%20to%20papal%20authority Miriam-Webster Dictionary website, ''Uniate'']</ref>
In a somewhat parallel way, but on a much smaller scale, [[Russian Orthodox Church]] has integrated certain [[Old Believer]] communities, allowing them to keep their rites while recognizing the authority of the national church. This arrangement is known as [[Edinoverie]].<ref>[https://muse.jhu.edu/article/884911 Johns Hopkins University Press website, ''Slavonic and East European Review, Volume 100, Number 4'', October 2022]</ref><ref>[https://orthochristian.com/105373.html Orthodox Christianity website, article by Vladimir Basenkov]</ref>
== See also == * [[Continuing church]] * [[Ecclesiastical separatism]] * [[Ecumenism]]
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Church organization]] [[Category:Christian terminology]]